The AT ATeam 5: The Finale
by Emily N. Daniel
Summary: When Mark suddenly disappears, the rest of the AT ATeam goes out looking for him. However, upon locating him, they find he's been brainwashed and is bent on destroying his friends. Will they be able to cure him in time? You'd be such a saint to read this!


The AT A-Team: The Finale 

by Emily N. Daniel

Mark stared up into the sky, the view magnificent beyond his imagination. The stars were blazing with life, each twinkling like a diamond in a hyperactive showcase. Did that even make sense? He wasn't sure, but he did know that there wasn't any other place he'd rather be at that moment. The grass beneath him felt cool and soothing through his clothes. It was still and quiet, as he liked it, and everything unlike his life back home in Tulsa, OK. Back home, he was often busy either performing music with his band Admiral Twin or heroic deeds as one-third of the superhero trio The AT A-Team, both of which included his two best mates Jarrod and John. Together, the three had been playing as a band for over ten years and fighting crime for nearly two. Along with their friends Kara and Steven by their side, the team was an incredibly powerful force to reckon with. 

However, being alone had its advantages too. Mark picked himself up, yawning and stretching. It had been such a long time since he'd taken a vacation that he'd nearly forgotten how to relax. Even as he had traveled to his destination, he'd felt rather ill at ease, as if leaving the sanctity of his home and those around him would make him vulnerable to some unknown danger. He knew he was just being silly though. The entire weekend had passed without incident and tomorrow he'd be heading back home, refreshed and better rested than he had been in a very long time. In fact, he was almost looking forward to the trip back. He'd already packed. 

Deciding it might be best to retire now so he could get an early start in the morning, Mark headed back towards the cabin he was renting. As he did this, he noticed that the area, already rather well-lit for being well into the evening, was becoming even more lit-up by the second. He turned his head and gasped. As bright as the stars were, they were nothing compared to the circle of lights that was coming down from the sky. Mark stopped walking, staring at the lights until they became too bright to look at. However, even more amazing than the lights was the disc-shaped object they were attached to. It looked like a craft of some sort...an aerodynamic device...a flying saucer! Again, Mark gasped and tried to move, but his feet remained firmly planted on the ground. 'Oh, shit. I'm dead,' he thought as the light overtook him and only darkness remained.

"Mark!" John called out, darting through the woods, the hot sun blazing down upon him. "Mark! Where are you? MARK!" 

"John, shut up! You don't have to scream! Besides, he wouldn't be under a boulder," Jarrod told him. John sighed, setting the boulder down. "I just don't get it," Jarrod continued on, "How could he have just disappeared like this? His stuff was at the cabin, packed...no signs of a struggle...no signs of anything unusual, unless you count the fact that Mark appears to have vanished into thin air." 

"You don't suppose this is all a charade, do you?" John asked, "Maybe he got sick of us and just acted like he was going on vacation but instead ditched his stuff and took off, joining a troupe of gypsies or possibly circus performers traveling the country." 

"Haha, yeah right!" Jarrod snorted, "Next you'll be telling me he was abducted by aliens or something..."

Mark groaned and opened his eyes, only to immediately close them again. No, this wasn't right. The ceiling he had just seen contained neither the bug-filled light fixture of the cabin nor the bare-hanging bulb of his apartment. The bed he was laying on felt different as well, not at all like the rough bunk of the cabin or the well-worn mattress of his old sofa bed. No, something definitely wasn't right here...and why did he have a piercing pain in his arm? "Mark, please wake up. We are almost at our destination," a strange hissing voice said to him. 

The voice confirming his fear, Mark bolted upright in the bed, his heart pounding furiously. "Who said that?" he called out, his voice filled with panic. "Where am I? What's going on?" 

"Relax," the hissing voice replied calmly from behind a chair facing a control panel, "You are on a spaceship, which is heading back home...back to your home." 

"My home? Well, thanks for the lift, but my car would have made it back to Tulsa just fine," Mark answered, now more annoyed than afraid. 

"No, silly," the voice chortled, "Perhaps I should have said to OUR home." The chair slowly turned to reveal a creature so repulsive Mark quickly turned his head and vomited. "Gee, thanks for the welcome," the creature rolled its eyes and got up, heading towards Mark. It pointed a long, scaly finger at the puddle and ice shot out the end, freezing the mess to where the creature was able to pick it up in one quick scoop and send it down a trash disposal chute. 

Mark stared in amazement. "That's amazing! You can freeze things just like I can!" 

"Well, duh," the creature replied, "We're both of the same species and race, you know." 

"What are you talking about?!" Mark snapped, "I'm a human being and you're some sort of hideous lizard-like thing!" 

"Again, thanks," the creature scowled and lit up a candle by breathing fire out of its mouth. "What you need to understand is that you're NOT human. You're not even from Earth! Thirty-seven years ago, our planet was plagued by war. You were just a baby back then. For your protection, we disguised you and sent you into hiding on the planet Earth. The war is now over and I was sent to retrieve you. You see, with your true parents dead, you are now our king..."

"Still nothing," Kara sighed, looking down at her homing device as she and the others tracked through the woods, "Something must be messing with the signal on the tracking chip." 

"I still can't believe you implanted microchips on us without letting us know first," Jarrod mumbled. 

Kara shot him a look. "It was for your own good. Besides, with you guys being such babies, you probably wouldn't have given me a chance otherwise. Now, hush up so I can try and make this work!" 

"Ha! Guess she told you, Jed!" Steven laughed. 

"Don't laugh. I implanted one on you too," Kara said. Steven opened up his mouth in protest, but before he could say anything, a loud buzzing suddenly filled the air. 

"Ahh! Killer mutant death bee!" John shrieked, diving into the nearest bush. 

"Oh, for crying out loud, John!" Kara exclaimed, "It's just the tracking device! It's finally starting to pick up something." She looked down at it and gasped. "No...that's not possible...he couldn't be..." The tracking device then buzzed loudly again before going out. "Aw, damn it! This stupid..."

"...piece of crap!" the creature cried, banging his slimy green fist on the control panel until everything on the ship lit up and started working again. 

"Man, for an advanced race, we sure have some crappy spaceships," Mark remarked, now sitting on the edge of the bed, "And when are we going to get there? I'm starving!" 

"Shut up, you insufferable...my apologies, your majesty," the creature bowed deeply, "Most of our finest crafts were destroyed in battle. I was stuck using this rather ancient vehicle, but it shall get us there soon enough. The journey has been long and exhausting. Still, I found you, our king, and that's all that matters." The creature opened a small compartment door and took out some cheese and crackers, handing them to Mark with a somewhat leery smile. "Eat up. You'll need your strength." 

"My strength? What for?" Mark asked, spraying cracker crumbs as he spoke. 

The creature sighed and wiped crumbs off his face before speaking again. "Because even though the war is over, the few that did survive on the enemy's side still plot even now to take the throne. You have yet to truly achieve all you can with your powers." 

"Well, don't we have our own army to help us out?" Mark gulped nervously. 

The creature shook his head. "We may have had more survivors, but most are badly injured and many simply refuse to fight anymore. It was a terrible, long war. I am afraid if another attacks occurs, we will be very much on our own. However, your powers are great and once you're trained up a bit, there will be few who could stop you. Now rest, my king. By morning, we shall be home."

"Kara, are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" Steven asked as he drove down another seemingly deserted highway. "We've been driving for hours!" 

"Yeah, really," Jarrod piped up from the back of the van, "I don't even know what state we're in anymore!" 

Kara glared at one, then the other. "For your information, we're in Mississippi. Every time a signal comes up, it shows Mark traveling east. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it looks like he is headed towards the ocean." 

"The ocean? How nice," John commented, "Must be pretty this time of year." 

"I'd hardly think so," Kara told him, her voice growing concerned, "There have been a lot of storms and hurricane warnings. If that is truly where Mark is heading, he could be in a lot of danger..."

"Home sweet home," the creature smiled again somewhat eerily as he led Mark off the craft and onto the sandy surface beneath. Mark looked upon the structure they now stood before. It was hardly what one would call impressive or even sweet. It was rather small and he highly doubted it contained more than a couple rooms. The craftsmanship was shoddy, fallen shingles and roof tiles littered the ground. A couple of windows were also broken. 

"We're not staying here, are we?" Mark asked, shivering. He clutched himself against the ghastly chill of the blowing wind. The sky was a sickly gray and the choppy water's waves broke the shore with frothy yellow foam. It was enough to make his stomach churn. Whatever planet this was, even if it was his true home, the surroundings felt a little too foreign...a little too foreboding. 

"This is one of the few buildings that wasn't completely destroyed in the war," the creature glared at him, "but feel free to stay out here in the barren wasteland that used to be our beautiful home planet! Maybe you'll be able to find someplace else to stay if you feel up to walking about 300 miles or so, but I assure you anything you find will be in far worse condition!" 

Mark sighed and followed the creature inside. As he had feared, it seemed the interior had faired little better than the exterior, but Mark said nothing as the creature breathed fire, lighting up candles whose flames flickered dangerously against the breeze coming in through the broken windows. The creature turned to face Mark, an expression of great seriousness upon his face. "This is a greatly serious situation," he explained, "Your majesty's enemies search day in and day out, for they know the true king has returned. I doubt we have more than a day or two to prepare for their arrival. Your skills must be honed for this, so training will begin immediately. The time for the final battle draws near..."

"What time is it?" John whined, staring out the window, "I think I see the sun rising, but there's a smashed bug in the way." 

"Well, if you would not get distracted by petty things and pay attention to the situation then you'd notice that's more going on than you think," Jarrod told him, "Besides, nightfall lasts more than four hours. It's only midnight. What you're seeing is a car with a broken headlight." 

"Steven, I think it's time I took over driving," Kara commented, "You're so tired that you're swerving into the other lane." 

"Nah, I'm fine," Steven replied thickly, "but is it me or did the sun just zoom past us blowing its horn?" 

"That's it! Pull over! We're trading spots," Kara said. 

Soon they were back on the road, Kara at the wheel and Steven snoring in the back. John soon joined in the snoring, but Jarrod was wide awake and had chosen to sit up front with Kara. He leaned over and spoke to her, "So were you able to pinpoint Mark's location yet?" 

"The signal still fades in and out," she replied, "but for the past 24 hours it's remained constant. He is indeed on the shore of the Atlantic." 

"Wow, what do you think he's doing there?" Jarrod pondered. 

"I can only imagine," Kara sighed.

"The time for the final battle draws near," the creature said, "We haven't much time." 

"I know, I know! You've been saying that for the past two days!" Mark exclaimed, frustrated. Day in and day out, the creature had forced him to practice his skills and push them to limits Mark would have previously believed impossible. It almost scared him, the unbelievable power he actually possessed. Still, in the end, he didn't really want to fight this great enemy who was the one threat against his supposed true home planet. He didn't want to have to kill for a place he hadn't even known existed a few days ago. This lack of enthusiasm was beginning to show more and more as the days wore on. 

"Look, do you want to win this war or not?!" the creature screamed at him, "You're screwing up skills you could manage before I even began training you! You just don't care, do you?!" 

"Well, excuse me!" Mark snapped, glaring at him furiously, "Excuse me for not truly wanting to fight for a 'home' that I can't even remember! Why should I put my life on the line for a planet that I don't think I'd want to live on, let alone rule, even if we DID win this stupid battle?" 

The creature's eyes narrowed. "Your majesty does not take this seriously. You're weak. Your powers are feeble..." 

"That's not true!" Mark cried. 

"It was a waste," the creature continued on, "It is hopeless. These will be my last days, perhaps yours as well." 

"Maybe just yours," Mark gritted his teeth. His patience had reached the breaking point. There was a flash of shimmering ice and a spurt of crimson and soon it was over. The creature was now on its back, drawing in raspy breaths. Mark just stared down in shock, a great sword of sharp ice held tightly in his hands. He dropped it and stepped back, his legs shaking. 

It wasn't long before the creature came to. It picked itself up, blood still dripping from the gash on its cheek. However, instead of looking angry, it simply looked elated. It turned to Mark and grinned. "Perhaps your majesty has the fighting spirit after all. Listen, I know you don't remember this place. I know you don't know anything of your life before living on Earth. It's just that you are our only hope to save the home we know and love. If this last attempt fails, the people of this planet are doomed. Even if you don't want to be their king, can you find it in your heart to save them? You know you are not truly weak or feeble. You are their only hope." 

Mark sighed. He knew that the creature was right. He just couldn't leave these people to fend for themselves if he truly was their only hope in saving the planet. It was part of what being a superhero, and a king, was about. He had to put the welfare of the people before his own. He had to protect the innocent at all costs, even if meant his life.

"So, this is it?" Jarrod remarked as he and the others stepped out of the van onto the seemingly deserted beach, a lone house in the not-too-far distance. The sky was a horrible shade of black and the wind was blowing so hard that it was a surprise that any of them could stay on their feet. He was glad he had already cut his hair for the season, as he watched the other three struggle to keep theirs out of their faces. 

"This is where the signal appears to be coming from!" Kara called over the wind, "We need to check the area and find him before the storm hits!" 

"Well, where should we start?!" John asked loudly. 

"Well, gee, that's a tough one," Jarrod replied, "We could check inside seashells or perhaps under more rocks...or maybe in the BEACH HOUSE where a human being could actually hide!" 

"So, rocks first?...AHHHH! Let go!" John screamed as Kara dragged him by the ear behind Jarrod and Steven as they walked towards the beach house. 

"John, promise me you'll shut up and I'll let go of your ear," Kara said. John quieted down and she made good on her promise, "Now we ALL need to be as silent as possible when approaching the house. We don't know why Mark is here or if he came here on his own free will. In fact, he may not even be alone. There is a good chance this could be a trap of sorts. We have to be prepared if that is the case."

"This is it, your majesty. They have arrived," the creature hissed. 

Mark joined the creature at the window and gasped. "Oh, they are more horrific-looking than even YOU are!" 

The creature scowled. "That is not important! The beings out there are the reason our once gorgeous planet is now destroyed! They are evil, mean, bad people..." 

"I've known kinder, yes," Mark added, "They will get what's coming to them, believe me." The creature grinned and said nothing more as the two watched the beings approach the house, stopping at the bottom of the porch steps. 

"Hello?! Is anyone in there?!" one of them called out, "Mark?! We know you're in there!" 

"Well, well," the creature mused, "It seems they want to see you, your majesty. Shall we go out and meet them?"  
Mark nodded.

"Geez, John! I said we needed to be silent when approaching!" Kara scolded him as quietly as she could. 

"Yeah, when approaching! We're here no-OW!" John cried out as Kara grabbed his ear once more. 

"Actually, neither of you are helping too much right now," Jarrod commented. 

"Doesn't matter. Look!" Steven pointed towards the house. Mark had stepped out onto the porch, but it was who he was with that caused the four to gape in disbelief. It was none other than the mad scientist Dr. Sven Galli, whom they had fought against and prevented from taking over Tulsa just one year ago. 

"YOU!" Jarrod exclaimed angrily, "I don't believe it!" 

"Believe it!" Mark bellowed, "For the true king has returned!" 

"Huh?" Jarrod found himself at a loss for words. Kara stepped up and glared at the mad scientist. 

"So, we meet again, doctor," she said calmly. 

"Doctor? I didn't know you were a doctor!" Mark was staring at Galli, not even paying attention to the others now. 

"That isn't important! They are the enemy, remember?!" Galli pointed his finger at the four of them and Mark suddenly looked determined again and nodded. 

"Enemy?!" Kara fumed, "We aren't the enemy! What have you done to him?! Mark, it's me, Kara! Steven, Jarrod, and John are with me as well! Don't you recognize us?" 

Mark burst out laughing. "Please! I think I'd recognize my friends if I saw them! All I see before me is a bunch of disgusting filth that needs to be rid of! You did this to us! You shall pay for your horrible crime against our planet!" 

"Guys, am I the only one who's confused here?" John asked. 

Galli grinned evilly. "Yes, the enemy must pay. Your majesty, show them the awesome strength of your power!" Mark nodded. A scream ripped through the air as John stumbled, having just missed being hit by an icicle the same size as him. More followed and the four scrambled, trying not to be maimed by the deadly ice. "The ring of fire! NOW!" Suddenly the four were enclosed in a circle of flames so high they seemed to reach the sky. 

"There's no way out!" Steven yelled, "What are we going to do? What are we...what the?" A dark shadow had enveloped them and the four looked up. 

"Oh, my gawd! It's a tidal wave!" Kara cried. The gigantic wave swallowed them and they struggled to break the surface, but the wave soon lowered itself back into the ocean and the four of them were left laying on the ground, sopping wet and gasping for breath. 

"Hahaha! This is it? Is this the best you can do?" Galli cackled. 

Lightening cracked overhead and the thunder roared a final cry before the rain began, first in drops then in buckets. The wind picked up and howled as it whipped at all in sight. Fighting the stinging rain and wind, the four got themselves back up and looked up towards the house, which they could barely make out through the storm. "What are we going to do now?" Steven stared at the other three. 

"Well, it's obvious that Mark doesn't realize what's going on or what he's doing. His skills have been enhanced incredibly and it's going to be difficult to get to him," Kara explained, "So, we need to handle this situation with the utmost care...OH MY GAWD, JOHN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" John had picked up one of the massive icicles sticking out of the ground and was preparing to hurl it at the beach house. "JOHN, STOP! YOU COULD HIT MARK!" But it was too late. The icicle hit the house with a tremendous crash, the sound of breaking glass and splintering wood filling the air. "NOOOOOO! JOHN, YOU IDIOT! MARK!" 

The four of them ran as fast as they could up to the house through what was now quickly becoming a hurricane. They finally came up to something that looked more like a towering pile of firewood than a house. "Oh, gawd, Mark..." Jarrod concentrated as hard as he could and slowly bits and pieces of wood began to float up and clear away until they uncovered something truly ghastly. It was Dr. Sven Galli, his body torn and mangled and very much dead. That's when Mark came out from behind the pile, his face twisted in anger and his ice sword poised at the ready. However, it now appeared to be covered in a strange green slime. 

"You killed him," Mark glared at John with severe hatred in his eyes, "You all are truly monsters..." He charged and before anyone could do anything or even move, Mark sliced John's arm with the sword. John yelled and grabbed his wounded limb, which was now oozing blood and green slime. 

"Mark! Steven, grab him!" Kara cried. Steven pulled off a high kick and knocked the sword out of Mark's hand before grabbing onto him tightly. "Okay, we have to get out of here before this hurricane gets any worse..." Suddenly, a familiar shadow enveloped them once more and Kara looked up, gasping. It was another tidal wave, even more massive than the first. However, as Mark had stopped struggling and was staring at it in utter horror, the others quickly figured that he had not conjured it up. "RUN!" All five of them took off towards the inland, but the tidal wave proved to be too much as it easily overtook them, swallowing them and dragging them into the deep, dark depths of the ocean.

A hand breaks the surface only to be pulled under again...


End file.
